JOHANNESBURG - The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng says it’s concerned that 700 first-year nursing candidates will not be able to study for their four-year diploma at three nursing colleges in the province.

It says this is despite the fact that they were informed that they qualified for the course.

The party says this is a cruel blow to poor students who passed the selection process.

The DA’s Jack Bloom said: “This is inhuman, it shows very poor budgeting and planning. I call on the provincial government to please reconsider. They must find the money from somewhere. It’s unacceptable not to have first years training for nursing, especially with the shortage of nurses.”